Fantastic....still.

Feb. 28th. The end of 'Dilla Month'. Two gems: "Untitled/Fantastic" (instrumental) & its orchestral companion, "Suite For Ma Dukes (Untitled/Fantastic)". 

Art-Hop Episode 6: Beastie Texas Pete

Artist: Beastie Boys feat. Santigold

Song: "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win"

Album: Hot Sauce Committee (Capitol Records)

Director: Spike Jonze

Art-Hop Episode 5: Metal Face Villain

Artist: Madvillain (Madlib & MF Doom)

Song: "All Caps"

Album: Madvillainy (Stones Throw Records)

Director: James Reitano

I play a Doom record and it transports me to place where Hip-Hop is merged with ill double entendres, comic book references, mask-wearing emcees and loops from old Japanese cartoons.

That's a good place to be in.

This clip is from Doom's pairing with Madlib and their collaborative 'Madvillainy' album. The vid stands as a 1960's Kirby/Lee comic book (complete with ads) come to life.

Watch it twice. I think it's that good.

Art-Hop Episode 4: Now That I Found You

Artist: Q-Tip feat. Norah Jones

Song: "Life Is Better"

Album: The Renaissance

Ha! I did it you non-believing bastards! I found an artsy Hip-Hop vid done in the last decade! Booyaakaa SHOT!

I'm joking...kinda. Trying to sort through recent Hip-Hop vids--to find that rare gem--can be a daunting task. You'd figure popular music would necessitate popular artists having a halfway decent clip. Not so. [NOTE: You almost had me post A Tribe Called Quest's "Electric Relaxation" video. I really like that one.] I'm making a serious effort to stay away from "golden era" vids. I'm trying to incorporate more recent vids into these Art-Hop eps. I don't want you to think that I'm some Hip-Hop elitist/Golden-ager who thinks that all contemporary Hip-Hop sucks. Nope. Not me. I only hate 75% of modern Hip-Hop. Ha!

Speaking of which, I like Tribe. I like Q-Tip. I like this vid. It proves you can do a lot (artistically) without having to do too much. It also features my ex-Thing Thing, Norah Jones.

Yeah. I'd rather not talk about our (me and NorNor's) relationship. Those wounds are still fresh.

Just watch the video.

He Was Sent Here To Do Music

James Yancey

February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006

J. Dilla

a.k.a.

Jay Dee

a.k.a.

Pay Jay

One of the greatest to ever do it.

Amen.

Art-Hop Episode 3: My Hat's Real Low

Artist: Jay-Z

Song: "99 Problems"

Album: The Black Album

Director: Mark Romanek

This song is probably in my Top 3 Jay-Z songs. The video? My favorite Jay video, hands down. It's gets no better than this. Jay driving around NYC with Rick Rubin riding shotgun seals the deal for me. Vincent Gallo? What the heck is he doing, arbitrarily walking around Brooklyn??? I don't know, but he looks cool doing it.

Outside of the cop scene, there really isn't a narrative to this video. It's just a bunch beautifully shot scenes edited together.

Who knew that a well placed Slayer sample, coupled with Jiggaman & Rick Rubin hanging out in BK, could make for a visually interesting video?

P.S. All of these picks won't be B&W (or from 10 years ago). I'll post some artsy Hip-Hop vids shot in color (AND made in recent years).

I just have to look really hard.

Art-Hop Episode 2: End Of The D.A.I.S.Y. Age

Artist: De La Soul

Song: "Ring Ring Ring"

Album: De La Soul Is Dead

Enough can't be said about this album. The trio--that ushered in esoteric rhymes and images of peace, love and flowers--skillfully "killed" their former image on their sophomore set, De La Soul Is Dead.

The first single from that album, "Ring Ring Ring" speaks to achieving a level of fame and then being plied with demo tapes from up & coming musicians. The video features stark black & white photography with allusions to leaving their old image behind.

This album and its concept was ahead of its time. What HIP-HOP artist, that you know, would discard a multi-million dollar image for the sake of advancing their art?

Don't rush to answer. I'll wait.

Art-Hop Episode 1: Upside down. Rightside Up.

Artist: The Pharcyde

Song: "Passin' Me By"

Album: 'Bizarre Ride To The Pharcyde'

Director: Sanji

With all of the buzz surrounding the new Kanye "film", I've decided to post some Hip-Hop videos that are a bit more art-influenced.

The first two Pharcyde albums were my favorites. I liked both albums for different reasons. Lyrically, both records were off the wall. Sonically, the first album had some crazy Fender Rhodes work from J Swift. The follow-up featured some of the first mainstream work from Dilla. No sophomore slump here.

This song/video? It perfectly captures the woe of a heart-broken rapper. The obvious allusion to ones world being "turned upside down" was brilliant. It made the case for authentic Hip-Hop being displayed with artistic visuals.

Art? Hip-Hop? Together? Ha!

Who would've thunk it?

God Made Dirt

I miss this dude. The genre is a less dangerous and more subdued place without him here. That isn't a good thing.

No, this isn't some tired post about how Hip-Hop, as an art form, has lost its relevance or energy. You can have that argument. Actually, all you have to do is turn on your radio. The music now? It's more marketing than machismo. It favors ringtones over renaissance. It's not so much dead...it's just safe. Credible art cannot function without some element of danger. At some point your creative heroes have to be ass-kickers. Your creative heroes need to be above the law. Your creative hereos need to live by an esoteric set of rules that only they fully understand. The presence of Ol' Dirty, in the music, gave us that. He was a hero.

He was reckless. Loud. Aloof. He liked women. Women liked him. He was funny. He renamed himself "Big Baby Jesus". He didn't care. That's what made him great. No matter how on-the-edge his antics appeared, there always seemed to be some methodical underpinnings that were more cerebral than we actually gave him credit for.

Like any good hero, he didn't feign humanity. His family said he was generous. His mother raved about his good character and how she loved her "Rusty". He helped lift a car to free a little girl, trapped underneath. His crew, the Brooklyn Zoo, was his Wu-Tang Clan inside Wu-Tang Clan. He was "out there", but--by many accounts--he was loved.

His music was a mash of god-speak, misogyny, sex, and comedy. The album skits were a mix of out-loud conversations and childhood musings. The songs could go from punching you in your mouth to professing his love, R&B style. He once proclaimed in a song: "Bitches, we love you!" No matter how twisted or humorous, you never mistook Dirty for the guy you could snuff. Yeah, he might have been singing The Love Boat theme (loudly and in public) going up an escalator, but you would probably think twice before you stepped to him. He was that dude, but he wasn't that dude either.

I don't know if Dirty was truly "crazy". Maybe. Or maybe his plan was to make you think he was crazy. The famous MTV limo ride. The infamous Grammy Awards speech crashing. The women. The 13 children. The album cover with the Jheri Curl wig and jumpsuit. Some may say foolishness or buffoonery. Some may say genius or brilliance. Whatever the case, it was him. He owned that. There were Wu-Tang interviews where it was apparent that even his fellow group members didn't quite understand him. You could say it was drugs. Maybe. But to totally encapsulate the Ol' Dirty Bastard character, as a result of drug use, is dismissive and surface. Somehow, you got the feeling that even if it was the drugs, the ODB persona was purposely crafted as the hero alternative to the mild-mannered Russell Jones. Whereas Russell Jones is the Clark Kent, ODB is the Superman. They function as two symbiotic entities within the same person.

Music, especially the music of young people, at some point has to be dangerous. It has to invoke some sense of rebellion. It has to be a statement against assimilation. In some ways it has to be a manifesto to not giving a f*ck. Listening to his albums (more so his debut) gave me that. In one listen, the music could be wild and sometimes unfocused. On another listen, it was calculated and dense. Some of the subject matter is off-the-wall; somehow it's also empowering.

[Current] Hip-Hop isn't dead. It's safe, subdued...and less dangerous.

I miss you, Dirty. Things, here on Earth, are not the same without you.

In Big Baby Jesus name, Amen.